StarCrossed Lovers & Other Strangers
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, day four hundred and seven: On her way to find the one missing thing for her new home, Shelby helps Emmett & Joanie.


_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 18th cycle. Now cycle 19!_

**TV Titles Cycle **- So this is Cycle 20! I wanted to do something special, so here we are! Some of you may remember a while back me asking for episode titles from tv shows. I've always found that a lot of shows have great episode titles, so this is how this cycle came to be. Each story will be inspired and titled after an episode from a different show. The influence of the episode may vary from story to story, not seeking to rely completely on it ;) You'll see...  
**Today's Show/Title:** "Gilmore Girls" - _Star-Crossed Lovers & Other Strangers_

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**"Star-Crossed Lovers & Other Strangers"  
Shelby & Beth, Emmett & Joanie  
Sequel to Solid Ground, Baby Steps, In the most unexpected ways, Can't Easily Forget,  
Make a Home of Four Walls, and The Girl in the Tree House **

After what had seemed an eternity, their home was finally… ready. No more boxes, no more things to get fixed or accomplished… This was their home, and they were happy to live in it. Shelby was now working; her elementary music teacher job was just what she had needed… a change of pace that allowed her to continue focusing on music, while she could also look after her baby girl. She had been so worried that something would go wrong, but it was far from that… and now she knew what she wanted to do next…

Putting Beth in her car seat, she had walked out of the house… and there he was, out front in his yard. Good old Emmett Tepley… The last little while, since the day she'd met his daughter and the girl had told her a few things about her dad… things had changed. She wouldn't say they were particularly getting along… She didn't know what to think of him… Did he have feelings for her, was that it? Did she? No… he just bothered her, most times. She had told herself, when she'd adopted Beth, that things were going to change. She was going to take this time on her own, not like she would usually do. She couldn't continue like nothing had changed… It wasn't just about her anymore; anyone she let into her life she was also letting into Beth's life. Having to factor her in, it had made her think and she had concluded she didn't like how her love life had been non-existent, not in any proper terms anything to be noted.

Emmett Tepley was… complicated, and she couldn't deal with complications. She had her daughter, her house, her job, and now… the last thing she needed to make it right…

"Morning, Corcorans!" she heard and looked over to find he had spotted them. He got up from the flowerbeds bordering his house. "Where are you off to?"

"You'll find out soon enough," she gave him a look before observing his work. "Didn't figure you for the gardening type…" she took a little dig. "Nice work."

"Everything needs taking care of," he nodded, and she returned the gesture… Of course he'd say that. "Hey, if you have time later, I… I'd like to run something by you," he asked after a beat. There was worry in her at first, wondering what that was about, but even from the next yard over she could see he wasn't playing.

"Uh… sure, alright," she nodded. He smiled thankfully and she watched him go… It took Beth fussing to snap her out of watching him, and when she realized this, she almost smacked herself… The thing with Emmett was that he was a really sweet guy, helpful, loving father and all of it… and that on its own shouldn't have bothered her the way it did. The guy was freakishly perfect and he had that gaze that would make any straight girl melt… And there she was, trying to do all this by herself, but then Prince Charming wouldn't let her, always helping… It shouldn't have been a problem… It almost sounded silly when she laid out the facts like that… But still he frustrated her… Even his insecurities were endearing instead of feeding into her suspicions that there had to be something off about him…

But, this was no matter, not know, if ever… For the moment, she and Beth were on a mission. So she opened the back door of her car to put…

She startled and paused. "Joanie?" she gasped, seeing the girl tucked in the back seat.

"Hi," she blinked shyly.

"How long have you… How'd you get in there?"

"You unlocked the doors," she explained. "I was thinking… I could come with you," she gave a smile. Shelby wasn't sure how to answer to that.

"Does your father know you're here?" Joanie nodded. "Really?" Shelby asked, doubtful, but again Joanie nodded. "Right, I'll just go check though, okay?" she baited.

"Okay, fine. I said I was going to Tammy's!" she admitted. "But can I go with you?" she asked again. There was Beth still fussing and the girl with those same blue eyes as her father, looking just as distracted as he had… This wasn't going to let her go, of course… The universe seemed determined to throw the Tepleys at her.

"Alright," she finally gave in, getting a smile from Joanie. "But I'm calling your father on the way."

"That's fair," Joanie agreed, sitting up as Shelby set in Beth and the car seat. The moment the girl saw Joanie's face hovering over, she cooed and relaxed. Shelby had to smirk to herself… figured… Beth and Joanie were fast becoming friends, with how many times Joanie "Tepley-ed" in – this was how she'd call it, with the way they both did it. "So where are we going?" Joanie asked once Shelby got in the driver's seat.

"Buckle up," Shelby instructed first. "You'll see," was all she'd say for the moment. As they drove off, she dialled up Emmett – he'd insisted on giving her his number, 'in case of emergency.' He was naturally surprised and concerned at first, but knowing she was with Shelby, he relaxed.

They drove a while until they pulled up to a house. Joanie was confused, probably thinking they were headed to a store, which made Shelby smile to herself… Whatever was going on, she'd no doubt cheer up once she saw what was inside. They were let in by Jules, who worked with Shelby at the school, and led to the backyard where 'they' were waiting. "Who's 'they'?" Joanie asked.

'They' were four Springer Spaniel puppies, and Joanie gasped with joy at discovering them. At this point Shelby revealed the secret she'd held earlier: she'd come to pick one and take him or her home. Joanie was quick to start observing the four, kind to each of the pups. Shelby hadn't been sure how she'd pick, so this apparently worked for everyone.

Putting Beth's seat down, Shelby crouched at her neighbor's side. She was presently cuddling up with one of the puppies, smiling. She hated to bring it up, but she had to ask. "Joanie?"

"I think you should take this one. Look, you can call it 'Panda,'" she indicated the puppy's face, happy with her idea. Shelby nodded, agreeing.

"Sounds good," she told her, then, "What's going on?" The girl frowned. "You knew I'd have to ask. It's okay," she promised.

"I don't want to go back…" she started.

"To your dad's?" Shelby asked, fearing the worst for a moment until she saw Joanie shake her head.

"No, I want to stay there…" she promised, then, "I don't want to go to… Nicole's," she frowned at the name.

"That's your mom, right?" Joanie nodded. "Why not? I know you don't like it…"

"She doesn't even care about me. She tries for five minutes, but it's fake, and then she ignores me all weekend. Why do I have to go? She was gone, for years…" she cradled the puppy. "Can't tell my dad, he wants us to spend time together… But there's nothing there…"

"Joanie, your dad loves you. I'm sure he'll understand if you just tell him." She didn't speak. "Come on, let's get Panda home." This made Joanie smile, and she finally got up. After they left Julia's, they returned to Shelby's. She put the puppy in Joanie's willing care while she – and Beth in tow – went to find Emmett. As predicted, the first thing he did was to ask after his daughter. Shelby assured him she was fine, revealing where they had just been.

"She's free to visit her anytime," Shelby told him of the dog they'd learned was a girl. "Now what did you want to talk about, before?" she asked.

"Yes, well… I wanted to ask… Joanie, she's growing. And I know she'll still come to me for some things, but not others. I was hoping that having her mother there might help, but… it's not… Almost makes it worse," he shook his head before looking to Shelby. "But she likes you. She talks to you… I guess what I'm hoping is maybe… She'd have someone to talk to if she needs it and it can't be me…" He looked at her, and she didn't know how to respond. So she nodded.

"Want to meet the dog?" she finally spoke up, and he smiled. They went to meet Joanie, who gladly introduced her father to Panda. They all crouched, huddled around the puppy, careful not to frighten her.

Maybe her caution was just right. If she could be there for them in ways they couldn't be for each other, maybe it would all be okay… She had a feeling the dog had just brought them all that much closer, that and their talks to one another…

THE END

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**A/N: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.  
****In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are  
****always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!**


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